Testing Procedure

All testing is done at a room temperature of 23°C (73°F) and with a 1°C margin of error. The coolers are tested with Turbo, EIST, and C1E enabled, which will allow the CPU to clock down to a low 1.6 GHz while idle, or clock up to proper speeds under stock and overclocked conditions. The retail Intel Core i7-4770K I use for testing at stock is set to load-optimized defaults with the CPU's voltage at a static 1.15 V. Overclocked, the processor is running at 4.2 GHz on the CPU and 3.9 GHz on cache, with respective voltages set to 1.20 V and 1.15 V. During all these tests, fans are set to run at 100% in the BIOS, with temperatures being recorded by AIDA64.

The idle test will consist of the CPU sitting idle at the desktop for 15 minutes. This will allow for a stable temperature reading that will be recorded at the end of those 15 minutes.

Wprime's and AIDA64's CPU test represent typical multi-threaded loads. Both offer consistent results, with one being a benchmarking application and the other a stability test. Both are run for 15 minutes before the peak reading during the test is recorded and taken as the result. This test lets enthusiasts know what temperatures they can expect to see with games and applications. Wprime is set to eight threads while AIDA64 is configured to stress the CPU, FPU, cache, and system memory.

AIDA64 offers maximum heat generation when set to stress just the FPU in the stability test, which will really push the CPU. This test represents extreme loads much like LinX, Prime95, and other extreme stress tests many users are familiar with.

Idle Temperatures

At idle, The H7 performs well, which is to be expected as the only way to fail an idle test is for the cooler not to make any contact with the CPU. At 29°C at stock and 30°C with the CPU overclocked, the H7 is doing its job. As there are no issues to report on here, it is now time to move on to load testing!

Typical Load Temperatures

In Wprime, the H7 Universal comes in toward the back of the pack. However, that's not a bad thing. Looking at the more expensive competition, like the NH-U12S, the H7 actually does well for its size considering it manages to keep up with the larger, more expensive Noctua cooler at both stock and with the overclock.

Firing up Aida64's CPU benchmark, CRYORIG's H7 Universal does well at stock, beating the Noctua NH-U12S by 2°C. It ends up 1°C behind the Scythe Ashura, however, which is another cooler that offers good memory clearance. Overclock the CPU and the Scythe Ashura falls behind by 1°C, with the Noctua NH-U12S performing just as well as the H7. CRYORIG's cooler once again manages to hold its own against the larger competition.

Max Load Temperatures

While CRYORIG's H7 Universal isn't a top performer during the AIDA64 FPU test, its performance is, again, solid. At stock, it performs as well as the Ashura and NH-U12S, and I was rather surprised to see the H7 Universal pull ahead once the CPU had been overclocked. Not only did it beat the Scythe and Noctua coolers, it came within 1°C of its larger sibling, the H5 Universal. Overall, the CRYORIG H7 Universal has proven to be an exceptional mainstream cooler with a surprisingly high level of performance.